He meant to travel over the world sometime; he
liked to see new things. After dinner, when the guests were in the
garden, he joined his wife for a moment, and told her what had amused
him by the way. "We went by one of those little houses so numerous about
here," he said, "and an old man was mending his fence. It needed it
badly enough. Archdale, as he went by, nodded to him pleasantly and
called out an encouragement of his improvements. The old man looked up
hammer in hand, and I expected to see something like what I should have
had, you know, from the tenants at Alderly. But, Flo, he was so
occupied, staring at Edmonson, whom he looked at first, that I had no
chance at all with him, and poor Archdale didn't get even a nod. He just
dropped his hammer and stood there agape. I think Archdale was annoyed
at the exhibition of ill manners, for he talked very little the rest of
the way here. Edmonson was so amused he could scarcely help chuckling
over it. He asked our host if the old man was one of his tenants, and if
he had been long on the place, and Archdale said 'yes.' Then Edmonson
chuckled all the more.
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